Haverhill hotel moves to meet local demand for high speed broadband

The team at Days Inn Haverhill

Steve Barton

Businesses can now reap the rewards of a Haverhill hotel’s investment in their infrastructure.

A BT Openreach dedicated fibre optic leased line has recently been installed at Days Inn.

This latest addition to the hotel’s facilities will provide free access to superfast broadband.

It will be available for guests staying at the hotel; corporate clients using the conferencing facilities and local businesses and people who want to have a meeting or catch up in the comfortable Kingfisher Coffee Lounge and Bar area.

A dedicated leased line means that there is a dedicated connection between the exchange and the Days Inn Haverhill and a guaranteed band width at all times.

No one else will have access to the line unlike a standard broadband, or fibre optic broadband solution to the cabinet, where the bandwidth is shared by everyone else on the local exchange.

Nic Rumsey, owner of Days Inn Haverhill explained: “The decision to install superfast broadband in the hotel is part of an ongoing strategy and commitment to developing our corporate business.

“By offering free access to the service we are adding value to both our business and leisure guests and providing yet another compelling reason to use our award winning hotel.

“I hope that local residents will pop in and enjoy a cup of coffee or a drink from the bar whilst they are accessing what will be one of the fastest broadband connections in the town.”

Access to superfast broadband is a very real issue for local organisations.

A number of the industrial estates in the town are not included in the overall broadband strategy for Haverhill, which sets out to have 80 per cent of houses and businesses benefiting from superfast broadband by the end of 2015.

Matthew Hancock, MP for West Suffolk and Minister for Skills and Enterprise is backing a campaign to get better broadband for Haverhill.

The main benefits that a superfast fibre optic dedicated leased line offers a business are reliability and speed.

Data can be both sent and received at speeds of 20mbps, this is known as a symmetric connection.

A standard connection provides downloads of up to 20mbps but uploads of data, such as sending emails, where information is being pushed from a computer, are generally far slower at speeds of between 0.5-1.0mbps.

A symmetric connection is ideal for voice applications such as telephone and video conferencing and sharing information online.

Micron Communications, who has provided IT support to Days Inn Haverhill since the hotel opened, was responsible for the installation and set up of the superfast broadband.

Jonny White, group development manager for Micron comments, “The broadband option that Nic has chosen is the best on the market today, there is quite simply no better system available.

“This is a huge investment; to put it into some perspective only around two per cent of our extensive client base has made the financial commitment to a dedicated leased line.

“I am sure users will be impressed with the reliability and speed of the new system.”

For further information about the hotel or conferencing facilities please visit www.haverhilldaysinn.co.uk, call 01440 716950 or email reservations@haverhilldaysinn.co.uk.